Remote work is helping push employment for the disabled to a record high
A pandemic-driven adoption of remote work helped push the employment rate of people with disabilities to an all-time high last year.
The percentage of employed people with disabilities rose to 21.3% in 2022, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s an increase of more than two percentage points from 2021 and the highest since 2008, when comparable data was first released.
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities has fallen in tandem with the national average over the past year. And while the participation rate increased for people without disabilities, it tripled for people with disabilities.
Daily tasks like commuting and navigating an office space can be difficult for people depending on their disability. As companies implemented remote and hybrid working arrangements, more people with disabilities applied and got jobs — sometimes for the first time in years.
The latest push by companies to urge workers to return to the office could jeopardize the achievements of people with disabilities, who make up about 12% of the population, according to the BLS. A report by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. released last June estimated that 35% of companies offer a fully remote option.
Overall, people with disabilities are still less likely to be employed than their non-disabled counterparts, and they are twice as likely to be employed part-time, the BLS report said. They are also more independent.
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